1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and method for configuring a graphical display, and specifically to apparatus and method for configuring a graphical display of custom or arbitrary shape. The present invention provides efficient means for configuring and populating such displays with graphical data, where such displays can include channel letter displays, logo or design displays, curved or round displays, or other arbitrary shaped or unusual aspect ratio displays, and can utilize or incorporate flexible pixel strings. The present invention is translation table apparatus and method. The translation table apparatus and method provides for mapping of graphical display data from an initial organizational scheme to an arbitrary new organizational scheme.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Displays have become increasingly more sophisticated, progressing from monochrome incandescent and LED to color to moving or changing displays to video quality displays, and from smaller to larger size, and with more elaborate content and control and driving systems. Channel letter type displays have progressed from simple neon or fluorescent light displays to video type displays. The construction of modern video-type channel letter or arbitrary shaped displays is typically accomplished using standard rectangular grid video components. Such use of rectangular grid video components is awkward and wasteful, and in some implementations lacks the full desired effect that channel letter shaped video components could provide. However, the production of shaped video components in arbitrary shapes is expensive and inefficient at present. Further, the rectangular grid video components and control system can be inadequate for creating the custom shaped displays that are becoming increasingly desired. Thus, there is need for efficient and cost effective production of arbitrary shaped displays and for a way to map standard rectangular image data onto an arbitrary shaped array and software to facilitate the conversion of rectangular to arbitrary shape.